The Magic in Dress-Ups, book review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: The Magic in Dress-Ups
written & illustrated by: Chrissy Byers
Publisher: Books by Chrissy Byers

Written to inspire imaginative play, this rhyming recount depicts the adventures of two small girls who create costumes from household junk and craft supplies.

Ending in a challenge, it is the perfect resource for Early Childhood Educators.

Scissors, card and some glue. What can we do?
From the very beginning of Chrissy Byers picture book, The Magic in Dress-Ups, children will be inspired to create. As you read the rhythmic, rhyming text, you will be carried away with imagination, feeling the excitement with each construction from bits and pieces from around the house.

Chrissy’s illustrations are colourful and multi-levelled, inviting a closer inspection about what materials are being used and predicting what they will become with the dress-up. On further analysis, pages in juxtaposition will reveal what the characters are doing in real life of the left, and what they are imagining in their make-believe world on the right. Clever!

I can see this book for young children being read over and over again. It would make a wonderful introduction to an art lesson to inspire children to create their own dress-ups and designs from craft supplies and recyclable materials.

The Magic in Dress-Ups will make children feel upbeat, and it will have you following the flow of colourful magic stars as they weave their way over the pages leaving you with a lovely touch of happiness.

The story ends with ‘Scissors, card and some glue. What can you do?’  There’s a challenge for kids, right there!

Purchase a copy: The Magic in Dress-Ups hardcover

Connect with Chrissy at: https://www.facebook.com/booksbychrissybyers

Title: The Magic in Dress-Ups
written & illustrated by: Chrissy Byers
Publisher: Books by Chrissy Byers
ISBN: 978-0-9943648-2-1
Category: pre-school age
Pages: 32 pages

Reviewed by Julieann Wallace
(Dip T, B. Ed, Author, Illustrator, Tea Ninja, Cadbury Chocolate Annihilator)
www.facebook.com/julieannwallaceonethousandwords/
https://www.julieannwallaceauthor.com/

Julieann is a member of:
Queensland Writers Centre
Write Links
Share Your Story Australia

 

Glitch, book review

Title: Glitch
by: Michelle Worthington
illustrated by: Andrew Plant
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing

Glitch spends his life searching through mountains of mouldy mess at the dump. He wants to make the fastest billycart ever. This year, he will be competing in the Big Race! but will his twitch stop him from winning?

Poor Glitch. He has either got anxiety with low self-esteem, or has been affected by the toxic rubbish at the dump. He is a trembly, twittery, twitchy kind of bug. It doesn’t matter though, as Glitch is rather clever. Where we see rubbish to be buried in all its ugliness, Glitch sees potential and treasure to use in his grand billycart designs. And he is the best in the business!

Except … he has never finished a race.

This year, Glitch’s billycart is very fast. But on the test run, disaster strikes. The driver, his friend June, is hurt and can no longer be the driver. It’s now up to Glitch to take over driving his billycart.

He really doesn’t want to do it. He gives June all sorts of excuses. Underneath it all he’s scared. June listens carefully to Glitch and shares some wisdom with him, ‘Don’t let being scared stop you. It means you’re about to do something brave!’

‘Ready, set, go!’ The race is on…

Illustrator, Andrew Plant has pictured the dump with all its smells, rubbish, gloom and doom with precision. So well in fact that he pulls you into the story like you are there at the dump with Glitch and June, feeling every emotion with the characters.

Glitch is a wonderful book written by Michelle Worthington, to inspire and encourage children to step out of their comfort zone and to be brave. It is also a book about recycling and imagining other uses for things we throw away. Most of all, Glitch is a story of friendship, even when the going gets tough. Everyone needs a friend who believes in them.

Purchase a copy: http://www.michelleworthington.com/bookstore.html

Title: Glitch
by: Michelle Worthington
illustrated by: Andrew Plant
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781925272710 (paperback)
Category: children’s
Pages: 32

Reviewed by Julieann Wallace
(Dip T, B. Ed, Author, Illustrator, Tea Ninja, Cadbury Chocolate Annihilator)
www.facebook.com/julieannwallaceonethousandwords/
https://www.julieannwallaceauthor.com/

Julieann is a member of:
Queensland Writers Centre
Write Links
Share Your Story Australia